Cryptography has been around for quite awhile and has undergone many changes so as to keep secrecy within certain groups. Below is a video that discusses the importance of cryptography in our lives as of right now.
As mentioned in the History portion of this site, the military used cryptography extensively to aid in WWII, both for the Germans and for the allies. Cryptography still has a role in military and government intelligence. How often does the military need to communicate something secret to someone across the world? Many people are attempting to intercept messages that the government and military has sent out. The key with keeping the message a secret is making sure that no matter who intercepts the message, the information will be protected and that the cipher will not get cracked. The encryption of messages ensures that the message will get delivered without being previously cracked by someone who has intercepted the message. There is so much information that the government has that is considered to be top secret and confidential. All of that information is protected due to cryptography. This is also true for information stored in hospitals, schools along with other agencies that need to protect their information. Only those who know the key, will be able to access the private information.
Cryptography also has an impact on individuals as well. Each time someone buys an item from the internet, they are counting on the sure hand of cryptography. So much information can be shared on the internet, but thanks to cryptography, it keeps all of our credit card information safe without any of it being stolen! Cryptography plays an integral part in protecting the identities of individuals so that they are secure and safe.
Cryptography is important, especially nowadays. As technology continues to advance, cryptography will advance along with it. Cryptography is continually changing so that it can protect all of that secret information. There are many job opportunities that involve cryptography. Even if you are not interested in a career involving cryptography, you can still find joy in it in that you can send secret messages to friends without your parents or teachers knowing what is going on. There is much more to cryptography than what I have explained in this webpage. If anything, I probably just scratched the surface. If you are interested in this subject, feel free to do more research in the types of cryptography that are being created and investigated.